1. Field of the Invention
The present invention pertains to checkstands, and, more particularly, to checkstands having a conveyor and turntable. The present invention further pertains to conveyance systems for a checkstand and methods of operating a checkstand.
2. Description of the Related Art
In many grocery stores it is customary for the customers to select their grocery items and then transport them via a shopping cart or other suitable mechanism to a checking-out point, commonly referred to as a “checkstand”. At such checkstand, a checker or cashier, checks and tallies the items purchased and then determines the total sales price to be paid. Such method of merchandising is also employed in other types of retail stores, such as drug, hardware, gardening, feed, and other similar stores. From a competitive viewpoint, it is highly desirable to perform the checking-out operation rapidly, accurately, and with a minimum of expense.
In conventional checkstands, conveyor belt means are typically employed to feed a succession of items to be checked from an unloading position to a bagging position. The checking is typically done by a cashier at a checking position which is typically situated at a location intermediate the unloading and bagging positions. The customer, or in some cases the checker or cashier, removes the selected items from the shopping cart and places them on the conveyor belt means, which transports the items to the checking position. In such conventional checkstands, the conveyor belt means delivers and unloads the items onto a stationary platform that is generally equipped with an electronic scanning device for scanning each item. This type of unloading often leads to congestion of the items at the end of the conveyor belt means with consequent tumbling of the items so unloaded and possible breakage of the glass-enclosed articles. Such congestion leads to unwarranted delays in the subsequent bagging of items and checking of subsequent customers. Such delays in servicing many customers throughout a day's operation represents a deficiency which has heretofore been accepted as unavoidable.
Although conventional checkstands have been generally suitable for their intended uses, there is still room for improvement in checkstands, particularly in their arrangement and the mechanisms used thereon for conveying items.